proposed 50p tax on each landline

[rynnor]

I dont see the case for cabling out into the middle of nowhere when it would be far cheaper to get the mobile phone companies to do 100% coverage or to get them to use sattelite broadband?

I have used my mobile broadband on beaches, up hills, all over the place - even in Wales

You can easily get 2MB broadband over mobile systems and its cheap - cheaper than many fixed line solutions really?

Hell I'm tempted to dump my fixed line broadband and move over to mobile completely!

[MYstIC G]

Originally Posted by Chilly

The concept of "everyone pays the same for a minimum service no matter the circumstances" is well established in our society. Healthcare, education, kind of policing and fire (these are paid directly from council tax etc but its almost the same) and others.

Key word being "Concept" there my friend, we all have to recognise that "Delivery" is completely different.

You get different service levels dependant on where you live, that's the way it goes and that's the way it should stay.

Any "tax" is bad, as I've said more than one, once a tax ALWAYS a tax.

[Bugz]

Originally Posted by rynnor

If its so important why isnt it centrally funded? - a few billion is chickenfeed in the uk budget - this seems a half assed approach much like the idea to support local papers and regional tv out of the license fee (another tax).

Everyone knows taxation will have to go up after the credit crunch - can we expect to see a million new forms of stealth taxation to support central spending so that they can say we didnt put up income tax?

How new labour of them

A few billion is 1-2% of the whole budget for the year during an up turn.

1-2% of the funding for a country is NOT chickenfeed.

[Sparx]

i have a 50meg fibre optic line and no BT phone, so i dont care if they do it or not

[Ch3tan]

Originally Posted by Sparx

i have a 50meg fibre optic line and no BT phone, so i dont care if they do it or not

Is that no phone line at all? Because it does not state BT line, it state anyone with a fixed phone line.

My parents still use our house phone, and it's part of our package on Virgin, or I would get rid of it.

[rynnor]

Originally Posted by Bugz

A few billion is 1-2% of the whole budget for the year during an up turn.

1-2% of the funding for a country is NOT chickenfeed.

This 50p a month is estimated to raise 175 mill a year - on your estimate that means we only spend 8bn - 17.5bn lol - it is chicken feed - the big problem is that it should come from central funding not new stealth taxes.

Edit - for the record we spend about 500 billion a year.

[Bugz]

Originally Posted by rynnor

This 50p a month is estimated to raise 175 mill a year - on your estimate that means we only spend 8bn - 17.5bn lol - it is chicken feed - the big problem is that it should come from central funding not new stealth taxes.

Edit - for the record we spend about 500 billion a year.

Firstly, you said that a few billion was chickenfeed - I was merely quoting you.

Secondly, I worded that very badly so apologies. I meant 2% roughly of the costs after we deduct the government's forms of income.

[Wazzerphuk]

Another win for Virgin users.

[nath]

Hah, I'd sooner pay an extra 10 quid tax on my BT line/month than be on Virgin .

[ramathorn]

if it is going to benefit the country as a whole i have no objections at all to paying it. i dont like this tax bull shit though as, as already stated, it will never go away. i'd much rather them say its a five / ten year project (or whatever a realistic target is) and thats how long the charge will be in place for

[Panda On Smack]

I don't really mind about paying an extra 50p but what annoys me is that it's only to provide out of date old school slow adsl, by the time it's actually all happened the rest of the world will be on a zillion mb connections and we'll have to start over again to provide 4mb as minimum

make an effort and get something worthwhile in place like virgin are doing

[Chilly]

Originally Posted by Wazzerphuk

Another win for Virgin users.

"fixed line". Not "bt" line, you slag.

[Sparx]

Originally Posted by Ch3tan

Is that no phone line at all? Because it does not state BT line, it state anyone with a fixed phone line.

My parents still use our house phone, and it's part of our package on Virgin, or I would get rid of it.

Nope i have no phone line, no telephone in my house. Its the 50 meg fibre optic from Virgin yes, but as i dont have a telephone line it wont include me. I dont have the TV either btw just the internet

EDIT

Every Briton with a fixed-line phone will pay a "small levy" of 50p per month to pay for faster net access.

I dont have a phone. And i already have the fastest connection possible at the moment

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8102756.stm

[DaGaffer]

Originally Posted by Sparx

Nope i have no phone line, no telephone in my house. Its the 50 meg fibre optic from Virgin yes, but as i dont have a telephone line it wont include me. I dont have the TV either btw just the internet

EDIT

I dont have a phone. And i already have the fastest connection possible at the moment

The fibre optic is your phone line. Just because you don't choose to have a handset doesn't mean you get off.

[Ch3tan]

Is it? Do virgin send everything down that line then? I thought this charge would only apply if you had a connected phone line -so an active number?